For all the memories Justin Turner has created for Los Angeles Dodgers fans on the field, they pale in comparison to those he’s provided for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) patients.
Among other initiatives, Turner has partnered with the hospital in September to have his Adidas cleats given a custom design by select patients in recognition of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
The tradition began five seasons ago and continued despite the ongoing pandemic, with the only change being Turner needing to connect with children virtually rather than an in-person visit. This year the honor went to Maddy, 12, and Georgia, 16.
While the children get a once-in-a-lifetime experience to design cleats for an MLB All-Star, Turner is equally excited and proud to wear their work.
“I made a video asking the kids to design the cleats and they went in the room and showed it to them, gave them all the markers and let them go to town. It was pretty cool to see all the pictures and videos of them having fun with it,” Turner told DodgerBlue.com.
“And it’s cool to see the cleats and what the kids are into. There was SpongeBob, Kool-Aid man and Maddy actually drew a picture of my face on the back of it and wrote Justin. And they always do the CHLA butterfly with different colors and a gold ribbon. It’s always cool to see that and repost afterwards so the kids can see what they did and see it on TV.”
Turner had his cleats, jersey and cap authenticated, and plans to send them to CHLA for display or a fundraising initiative.
“For the past five years Justin has enlisted our patients to transform his Adidas cleats into unique works of art,” said Cynthia Diaz, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Child Life team member, who coordinates with Turner on having his cleats designed.
“The experience of creating a key part of Justin’s uniform and essentially ‘taking the field’ with him is so meaningful to them. We are grateful to Justin for taking the time to honor our patients each season during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.”
CHLA celebrates Justin Turner Foundation
Turner and his wife Kourtney have long supported CHLA through various endeavors, and in March 2019, the couple along with the Justin Turner Foundation were added to the prestigious Spotlight Wall.
Ranked No. 1 on the West Coast and No. 5 in the world for pediatric specialty care, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a nonprofit that relies on the generosity of the community it serves. CHLA sees more than 500,000 patient visits every year from children across Southern California, the United States and globe.
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